Car crashes into Floyd Baker Boulevard business
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

Workers begin cleanup at Titlemate Auto Title Loans on West Floyd Baker Boulevard on Monday morning. A car ended up in the middle of the office when a driver lost control. The building sustained an estimated $46,000 in damage.

Joy Robinson can thank a child's bookbag for keeping her out of harm's way.

Her daughter forgot her bookbag when she went to school Monday and rather than let the child go without it, Robinson decided to drop it off at school. The detour made Robinson late for work and she couldn't be happier.

At about 9 a.m. Monday, 84- year-old J. T. Ratchford of Gaffney was driving east on West Floyd Baker Boulevard when he crossed over the westbound lane and crashed his car through the window of Titlemate Auto Title Loans, according to an accident report from Gaffney police.

The crash sent glass and bricks flying as Ratchford's 1985 Ford came to a stop inside the building. The police report estimated the damage to the building at about $46,000, while Ratchford's car sustained about $4,000 in damage.

"I'm normally here by 8:30 every morning," said Robinson, an assistant manager at the business. "There was definitely somebody looking out for me today," she said.

When Robinson arrived at work she was first confronted by the sight of fire trucks and police cars. "I pulled up and said, 'Why are all these cops here? Then I saw the building and that explained it," she said.

A contractor was brought in almost immediately on Monday morning to assess the damage and begin repair work.

The crash took out a side window and front door and reduced much of the building's entrance to a small mountain of bricks and twisted metal.

No one was inside the business when the crash occurred.. It normally opens at 10 a.m., employees said.

Ratchford was not hurt, police said.